Apparatus and method for media detection and replacement

ABSTRACT

A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, a server having a controller configured to identify audio content of interest associated with an audio portion of a media program. Alternate audio content is identified. Responsive to a detection of the audio content of interest within a textual representation of the audio portion, an indicator including a pointer is inserted into the media program. The pointer points to the alternate audio content and is inserted at a start point of the occurrence of the audio content of interest within the media program. The alternate audio content is retrieved based on the pointer and substituted with the alternate audio content beginning at the start point. Other embodiments are disclosed.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Continuation of and claims priority to U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 12/570,601 filed Sep. 30, 2009. The contents ofeach of the foregoing is/are hereby incorporated by reference into thisapplication as if set forth herein in full.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure relates generally to media detection andreplacement and more specifically to an apparatus and method for mediadetection and replacement.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

The Internet and other networks provide users with a means forexperiencing and sharing various types of media content. The mediacontent can often include audio content, video content, text content,still image content, and/or combinations thereof. Other media contentproviding sources can include Internet Protocol Television (IPTV), cableTV, and satellite TV. During presentation of a particular media program,users can be presented with audio, video, and/or closed captionedcontent during presentation of the media program. Different and/orsubstitute versions of the various types of content can also be providedto the user as well.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1-2 depict illustrative embodiments of communication systems thatprovide media services;

FIG. 3 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a portal interacting withthe communication systems of FIGS. 1-2;

FIG. 4 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a communication deviceutilized in the communication systems of FIGS. 1-2;

FIG. 5 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a system for mediadetection and replacement, which can operate in portions of thecommunications systems of FIGS. 1-2;

FIG. 6 depicts a user interface of a configuration manager that featuresaudio replacement application settings, wherein the configurationmanager can operate in the systems of FIGS. 1-2 and 5;

FIG. 7 depicts a user interface for selecting which source to use toprovide the input regarding which channels and/or events to monitor andreplace media content on;

FIG. 8 depicts a user interface for selecting closed captioning options;

FIG. 9 depicts a remote control device which can be utilized in thesystems of FIGS. 1-2 and 5;

FIG. 10 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a method for mediadetection and replacement, the method operating in portions of thecommunication systems of FIGS. 1-2 and FIG. 5; and

FIG. 11 is a diagrammatic representation of a machine in the form of acomputer system within which a set of instructions, when executed, maycause the machine to perform any one or more of the methodologiesdiscussed herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

One embodiment of the present disclosure can entail a server having acontroller configured to receive a selection from a computing deviceduring presentation of a media program comprising at least one of audiocontent and textual content associated with the audio content, whereinthe selection identifies media content of interest, receive a selectionfrom the computing device identifying replacement content for the mediaprogram, detect whether the media program contains the identified mediacontent of interest, and replace the identified media content ofinterest with the replacement content if the identified media content ofinterest is detected in the media program.

Another embodiment of the present disclosure can entail a methodincluding identifying media content of interest and replacement contentfor the media content of interest via at least one of a graphical userinterface (GUI) and a batch file feed, wherein the media content ofinterest is associated with a media program, and transmitting theidentifications to a server operating in an interactive television (iTV)network, wherein the media content of interest is determined by theserver to be in the media program, wherein the replacement content isretrieved by the server, and wherein the media content of interest isreplaced with the retrieved replacement content by the server during themedia program.

Yet another embodiment of the present disclosure can entail acomputer-readable storage medium having computer instructions to receivea selection from a computing device operating in an iTV network, whereinthe selection identifies media content of interest associated with amedia program, receive a selection from the computing device identifyingreplacement content to replace the media content of interest, determinewhether the media program contains the identified media content ofinterest, retrieve the replacement content if the media program isdetermined to contained the identified media content of interest, andreplace the identified media content of interest with the replacementcontent during presentation of the media program.

FIG. 1 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a first communicationsystem 100 for delivering media content. The communication system 100can represent an Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) broadcast mediasystem. The IPTV media system can include a super head-end office (SHO)110 with at least one super headend office server (SHS) 111 whichreceives media content from satellite and/or terrestrial communicationsystems. In the present context, media content can represent audiocontent, moving image content such as videos, still image content, orcombinations thereof. The SHS server 111 can forward packets associatedwith the media content to video head-end servers (VHS) 114 via a networkof video head-end offices (VHO) 112 according to a common multicastcommunication protocol.

The VHS 114 can distribute multimedia broadcast programs via an accessnetwork 118 to commercial and/or residential buildings 102 housing agateway 104 (such as a common residential or commercial gateway). Theaccess network 118 can represent a group of digital subscriber lineaccess multiplexers (DSLAMs) located in a central office or a servicearea interface that provide broadband services over optical links orcopper twisted pairs 119 to buildings 102. The gateway 104 can usecommon communication technology to distribute broadcast signals to mediaprocessors 106 such as Set-Top Boxes (STBs) which in turn presentbroadcast channels to media devices 108 such as computers or televisionsets managed in some instances by a media controller 107 (such as aninfrared or RF remote control).

The gateway 104, the media processors 106, and media devices 108 canutilize tethered interface technologies (such as coaxial or phone linewiring) or can operate over a common wireless access protocol. Withthese interfaces, unicast communications can be invoked between themedia processors 106 and subsystems of the IPTV media system forservices such as video-on-demand (VoD), browsing an electronicprogramming guide (EPG), or other infrastructure services.

Some of the network elements of the IPTV media system can be coupled toone or more computing devices 130 a portion of which can operate as aweb server for providing portal services over an Internet ServiceProvider (ISP) network 132 to wireline media devices 108 or wirelesscommunication devices 116 by way of a wireless access base station 117operating according to common wireless access protocols such as WirelessFidelity (WiFi), or cellular communication technologies (such as GSM,CDMA, UMTS, WiMAX, Software Defined Radio or SDR, and so on).

The first communication system 100 can also include a mobile device 135.The mobile device 135 can be a cellular phone, personal digitalassistant, smart phone, personal computer, or other similar device. Themobile device 135 can be configured to be operably coupled to ISPnetwork 132. Additionally, the mobile device 135 can be operably coupledto the STBs 106 and other devices in the system 100. Notably, mobiledevice 135 can contain a software application or have access to asoftware application, which can enable the mobile device 135 to detectand replace audio, textual, or other content associated with a mediaprogram playing on the mobile device 135 or on other devices in thesystem 100.

A user of the mobile device 135 can select, via the application, contentthat the user deems to be interesting. Additionally, the user can selectsubstitute or alternate content to replace the selected interestingcontent. Either a batch interface or a GUI can be utilized to input theselections. The selected interesting content and information about theselected interesting content can also be stored by the mobile device 135and/or by the application for future use.

Another distinct portion of the computing devices 130 can function as aserver (herein referred to as server 130). The server 130 can use commoncomputing and communication technology to perform the function ofdistributing media content and/or other types of content to variousdevices in the system 100. Notably, the server 130 can be configured tocommunicatively link to the mobile device 135, gateway 104, the STBs106, and other devices in the system 100. The server 130 can beconfigure to contain the software application for detecting content thatis selected as “interesting” by the mobile device 135, the STBs 106,and/or other devices in the system 100 such as media device 108. Theselected content can then be replaced with substitute content by theserver 130.

It will be appreciated by an artisan of ordinary skill in the art that asatellite broadcast television system can be used in place of the IPTVmedia system. In this embodiment, signals transmitted by a satellite 115supplying media content can be intercepted by a common satellite dishreceiver 131 coupled to the building 102. Modulated signals interceptedby the satellite dish receiver 131 can be submitted to the mediaprocessors 106 for generating broadcast channels which can be presentedat the media devices 108. The media processors 106 can be equipped witha broadband port to the ISP network 132 to enable infrastructureservices such as VoD and EPG described above.

In yet another embodiment, an analog or digital broadcast distributionsystem such as cable TV system 133 can be used in place of the IPTVmedia system described above. In this embodiment the cable TV system 133can provide Internet, telephony, and interactive media services.

It follows from the above illustrations that the present disclosure canapply to any present or future interactive over-the-air or landlinemedia content services.

FIG. 2 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a communication system 200.employing an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) network architecture tofacilitate the combined services of circuit-switched and packet-switchedsystems. Communication system 200 can be overlaid or operably coupledwith communication system 100 as another representative embodiment ofcommunication system 100.

Communication system 200 can comprise a Home Subscriber Server (HSS)240, a tElephone NUmber Mapping (ENUM) server 230, and other commonnetwork elements of an IMS network 250. The IMS network 250 canestablish communications between IMS compliant communication devices(CD) 201, 202, Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) CDs 203, 205,and combinations thereof by way of a Media Gateway Control Function(MGCF) 220 coupled to a PSTN network 260.

IMS CDs 201, 202 can register with the IMS network 250 by contacting aProxy Call Session Control Function (P-CSCF) which communicates with acorresponding Serving CSCF (S-CSCF) to register the CDs with at the HSS240. To initiate a communication session between CDs, an originating IMSCD 201 can submit a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP INVITE) message toan originating P-CSCF 204 which communicates with a correspondingoriginating S-CSCF 206. The originating S-CSCF 206 can submit queries tothe ENUM system 230 to translate an E.164 telephone number in the SIPINVITE to a SIP Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) if the terminatingcommunication device is IMS compliant.

The SIP URI can be used by an Interrogating CSCF (I-CSCF) 207 to submita query to the HSS 240 to identify a terminating S-CSCF 214 associatedwith a terminating IMS CD such as reference 202. Once identified, theI-CSCF 207 can submit the SIP INVITE to the terminating S-CSCF 214. Theterminating S-CSCF 214 can then identify a terminating P-CSCF 216associated with the terminating CD 202. The P-CSCF 216 then signals theCD 202 to establish communications.

If the terminating communication device is instead a PSTN CD such asreferences 203 or 205, the ENUM system 230 can respond with anunsuccessful address resolution which can cause the originating S-CSCF206 to forward the call to the MGCF 220 via a Breakout Gateway ControlFunction (BGCF) 219. The MGCF 220 can then initiate the call to theterminating PSTN CD by common means over the PSTN network 260.

The aforementioned communication process is symmetrical. Accordingly,the terms “originating” and “terminating” in FIG. 2 are interchangeable.It is further noted that communication system 200 can be adapted tosupport video conferencing by way of common protocols such as H.323. Inaddition, communication system 200 can be adapted to provide the IMS CDs201, 203 the multimedia and Internet services of communication system100.

The server 130 of FIG. 1 can be operably coupled to the secondcommunication system 200 for purposes similar to those described above.

FIG. 3 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a portal 302 which canoperate from the computing devices 130 described earlier ofcommunication 100 illustrated in FIG. 1. The portal 302 can be used formanaging services of communication systems 100-200. The portal 302 canbe accessed by a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) with a common Internetbrowser such as Microsoft's Internet Explorer® using an Internet-capablecommunication device such as those described for FIGS. 1-2. The portal302 can be configured, for example, to access a media processor 106 andservices managed thereby such as a Digital Video Recorder (DVR), a VoDcatalog, an EPG, a personal catalog (such as personal videos, pictures,audio recordings, etc.) stored in the media processor, provisioning IMSservices described earlier, provisioning Internet services, provisioningcellular phone services, and so on.

FIG. 4 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a communication device 400.Communication device 400 can serve in whole or in part as anillustrative embodiment of the communication devices of FIGS. 1-2. Thecommunication device 400 can comprise a wireline and/or wirelesstransceiver 402 (herein transceiver 402), a user interface (UI) 404, apower supply 414, a location receiver 416, and a controller 406 formanaging operations thereof. The transceiver 402 can support short-rangeor long-range wireless access technologies such as Bluetooth, WiFi,Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications (DECT), or cellularcommunication technologies, just to mention a few. Cellular technologiescan include, for example, CDMA-1X, UMTS/HSDPA, GSM/GPRS, TDMA/EDGE,EV/DO, WiMAX, SDR, and next generation cellular wireless communicationtechnologies as they arise. The transceiver 402 can also be adapted tosupport circuit-switched wireline access technologies (such as PSTN),packet-switched wireline access technologies (such as TCPIP, VoIP,etc.), and combinations thereof.

The UI 404 can include a depressible or touch-sensitive keypad 408 witha navigation mechanism such as a roller ball, joystick, mouse, ornavigation disk for manipulating operations of the communication device400. The keypad 408 can be an integral part of a housing assembly of thecommunication device 400 or an independent device operably coupledthereto by a tethered wireline interface (such as a USB cable) or awireless interface supporting for example Bluetooth. The keypad 408 canrepresent a numeric dialing keypad commonly used by phones, and/or aQwerty keypad with alphanumeric keys. The UI 404 can further include adisplay 410 such as monochrome or color LCD (Liquid Crystal Display),OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) or other suitable display technologyfor conveying images to an end user of the communication device 400. Inan embodiment where the display 410 is touch-sensitive, a portion or allof the keypad 408 can be presented by way of the display.

The UI 404 can also include an audio system 412 that utilizes commonaudio technology for conveying low volume audio (such as audio heardonly in the proximity of a human ear) and high volume audio (such asspeakerphone for hands free operation). The audio system 412 can furtherinclude a microphone for receiving audible signals of an end user. Theaudio system 412 can also be used for voice recognition applications.The UI 404 can further include an image sensor 413 such as a chargedcoupled device (CCD) camera for capturing still or moving images.

The power supply 414 can utilize common power management technologiessuch as replaceable and rechargeable batteries, supply regulationtechnologies, and charging system technologies for supplying energy tothe components of the communication device 400 to facilitate long-rangeor short-range portable applications. The location receiver 416 canutilize common location technology such as a global positioning system(GPS) receiver for identifying a location of the communication device400 based on signals generated by a constellation of GPS satellites,thereby facilitating common location services such as navigation.

The communication device 400 can use the transceiver 402 to alsodetermine a proximity to a cellular, WiFi or Bluetooth access point bycommon power sensing techniques such as utilizing a received signalstrength indicator (RSSI) and/or a signal time of arrival (TOA) or timeof flight (TOF). The controller 406 can utilize computing technologiessuch as a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), and/or avideo processor with associated storage memory such a Flash, ROM, RAM,SRAM, DRAM or other storage technologies.

The communication device 400 can be adapted to perform the functions ofthe media processor 106, the media devices 108, or the portablecommunication devices 116 of FIG. 1, as well as the IMS CDs 201-202 andPSTN CDs 203-205 of FIG. 2. It will be appreciated that thecommunication device 400 can also represent other common devices thatcan operate in communication systems 100-200 of FIGS. 1-2 such as agaming console and a media player.

FIG. 5 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a system 500 for mediadetection and replacement, the system operable in portions of thecommunication systems of FIGS. 1-2. The devices in the system 500 can beconfigured to operate in an iTV network, which can include IPTV, cabletelevision, and satellite television. Additionally, the devices in thesystem 500 can be configured to transmit, receive, and process anyinternet-based content or other content. The system 500 can include acentralized application 502 that can deploy a configuration manager,which can include a batch interface (live television configuration file)504 and a GUI for management logon 506. The application 502 can beconfigured to execute on a server or other computing device. The servercan be a device capable of processing data, which can communicate withthe devices in the system 500. Notably either the batch interface 504 orthe GUI 506 or a combination thereof can be utilized to input selectionsregarding media content of interest. For example, the batch interface504 and/or the GUI 506 can be utilized to input channels and/or eventsthat the application 502 should monitor on behalf of a user.

Additionally, users can access the application 502 via a mobile device,such as mobile device 135, a personal computer, STBs 106, video gamesystem, and/or other computing/media devices. The aforementioned devicescan access the application 502 by utilizing a communications protocolsuch as TCP/IP. Once a device accesses the application 502, theapplication 502 can present a user with a user interface, such as GUI506, by utilizing a programming language such as HTML. The users and/orservice provider management can select media content of interest via theGUI 506 for the application 502 to monitor. The media content caninclude audio content, video content, still image content, text content,text content associated with the audio content (such as closedcaptioning content), and other content. Also, replacement content can beselected to replace the media content of interest, whether it be audio,text, or other content. The replacement content and other content can bestored in a database 512.

Referring now also to FIG. 6, a user interface 600 of theapplication/configuration manager 502 that features audio replacementapplication settings is illustratively shown. The user interface 600 canenable a user to identify what media content of interest the application502 needs to monitor. For example, the interface 600 can include a listof words to replace, such as offensive language. The user can selecteach word that the user is interested in monitoring. Similarly, the usercan select a replacement word or words to replace the selected mediacontent of interest. As FIG. 6 shows, the checked word can be replacedwith the word “tadertot” each time the checked word is detected by theapplication 502 and/or applications associated with the application 502.The user interface 600 can be configured to allow the user to save thesettings or cancel changes as well.

Referring now also to FIG. 7, a user interface 700 for selecting whichsource to use to provide the input regarding which channels, content,and/or events to monitor and replace media content on is illustrativelyshown. The user interface 700 can allow the user to select the option touse a batch feed to identify all upcoming media content, such as livetelevision events. Additionally, the user interface 700 can enable theuser to use a batch feed with a manual GUI override option for theupcoming media content. Furthermore, an option can be given to the userto simply use the GUI to identify all upcoming media content.

Referring now also to FIG. 8, a user interface 800 for selecting closedcaptioning options is depicted. The user interface 800 can enable a userto select an option to monitor and replace closed captioning contentoccurring during a media program separately from the audio contentassociated with it. Also, the user interface 800 can provide the userwith the option to use the same replacement content values that the userdesignated for audio content. The user can also be allow to customizefind and replacement values for the close captioning content as well.Furthermore, an option can be provided to allow the user to use theclosed captioning information to find the media content of interestinstead of using a voice recognition module, which is used for audiocontent and is further described below.

Referring now also to FIG. 9, a remote control device 900 which can beutilized in the systems of FIGS. 1-2 and 5 is illustratively shown. Theremote control device 900 can be utilized by a user to access theapplication 502 from the comfort of the user's home or other similarlocation. Specifically, the remote control device 900 can enable theuser to select various options to identify media content of interest andreplacement content for the media content of interest. The user can alsosave their settings and other changes performed in the application 502using the remote control device 900.

Once the user or other individual has made his/her selections pertainingto the media content of interest and replacement content, the mediacontent can enter a network associated with the devices of system 500,and can be received by an encoder, such as h.264 encoder 508. Once themedia content is received by the encoder, the encoder can output themedia content in h.264 format. The encoder can relay the media contentto a server, such as IPTV A-server 510, which can add digital rightsmanagement (DRM) to the media content so as to protect the mediacontent. Additionally, the IPTV A-server 510 can encapsulate the mediacontent utilizing real-time transfer protocol (RTP) so as to allow themedia content to be streamed in real-time.

In an embodiment, the IPTV A-server 510 or other server can proceed totransmit the media content to an RTP depacketizer 512, which can beconfigured remove the RTP header from the media content. In anembodiment, the DRM information can also be removed from the mediacontent. The RTP depacketizer 512 can transmit the media content to ananalyzer 514, which can utilize a processor and can be operably coupledand/or associated with the application 502. The analyzer 514 can analyzethe media content to find the selected media content of interest.Notably, the analyzer 514 can analyze audio content separately from textcontent or other content.

When analyzing audio content, the analyzer 514 can utilize a voicerecognition module to detect the media content of interest in thestreamed audio content. If the media content of interest is detected, anindicator with a pointer to the replacement content can be inserted intothe audio stream at the start of the media content of interest. Theactual replacement content, information about the media content ofinterest, and other information can be stored in database 516. At thispoint, an audio splicer 518 can be utilized to recognize the indicatorwith the pointer and access the replacement content from the database516. Upon accessing the replacement content, the splicer 518 cansplice/insert the replacement content into the audio stream in place ofthe detected media content of interest.

With regard to text content, the analyzer 514 can analyze the textcontent for the media content of interest. If the media content ofinterest is detected in the text stream, replacement text content can beused to replace the detected media content of interest. Once the audiocontent, text content, and/or other content is detected and/or replaced,the RTP repacketizer 520 can reinsert/replace the RTP header into themedia content. Additionally, DRM information can also be inserted backinto the media content. The application 502 can report informationpertaining to the detection and replacement of the media content ofinterest to relevant external resources, such as the FederalCommunications Commission (FCC), via an electronic interface 522, suchas an Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) interface. Billing, report, andlogging information can also be utilized in the system 500 to satisfyreporting obligations or for other purposes.

Once the media content has been detected and/or replaced, the contentcan be transmitted to a distribution server 524, which can then relaythe media content to a media device 526 for display. The media device526 can be a STB, personal computer, mobile device, or other devicecapable of displaying the media content. The operative functions of thesystem 500 are not intended to be limited to being provided by anIPTV-based solution, but, instead, can be extended to any interactivetelevision-based solution, internet-based solution, or other similarsolution.

FIG. 10 depicts an illustrative method 1000 for detecting andreplacement media content that operates in portions of the communicationsystems of FIG. 1-2 and FIG. 5. Method 1000 can begin with step 1002 inwhich a user can utilize a computing device to select media content ofinterest to be monitored and replacement content to replace the mediacontent of interest. Notably, a batch interface or a GUI or acombination thereof can be utilized to input the selections regardingmedia content of interest and the replacement content. For example, theuser can select an option in a GUI to monitor every occurrence of anoffensive word for a selected media program. The user can also select anon-offensive replacement word such as “hello” to replace eachoccurrence of the offensive word in the media program. At step 1004, thecomputing device can transmit the selections to an application, such asapplication 502, which can reside on a server.

At step 1006, the application can monitor the selected media program forthe selected media content of interest. The application can determinewhether the media program contains the selected media content ofinterest at step 1008. If the media program does not contain theselected media content, the application can simply let the media programcontinue, monitor another selected media program, stop monitoring themedia program, or conduct other operations. On the other hand, if theapplication detects the selected media content of interest in the mediaprogram, the application can retrieve the replacement content from adatabase at step 1010. At step 1012, the application can replace thedetected media content of interest with the replacement content. Thereplaced content can then be presented to the user instead of presentingthe detected media content of interest.

In one embodiment, once the computing device transmits the selections tothe application in step 1004, the application can be configured toseparate an audio stream and a text stream (such as closed captioningcontent associated with the audio content) from a media program at step1014. With regard to the separated audio stream, the application canenable a voice recognition module to analyze the audio stream for theselected media content of interest at step 1016. If the selected mediacontent of interest is found in the audio stream, an indicator with apointer to the replacement content can be inserted at the beginning ofthe media content of interest at step 1018. For example, if the mediacontent of interest was the word “computer,” the pointer can be insertedat the point in the stream where the word “computer” begins. At step1020, an audio splicer operably coupled to the application can accessthe replacement content based on the pointer. At step 1022, the audiosplicer can splice the replacement content into the audio stream inplace of the media content of interest. The audio stream can then bepresented to the user with the replacement content.

With regard to the text stream, the application can monitor the textstream of the media program for the selected media content of interestat step 1024. If the application detects the media content of interestin the text stream, the application can retrieved the replacementcontent from the database, as the application performed in step 1010.Once the replacement content is retrieved, the application can replacethe detected media content of interest with the retrieved replacementcontent at step 1026.

Upon reviewing the aforementioned embodiments, it would be evident to anartisan with ordinary skill in the art that said embodiments can bemodified, reduced, or enhanced without departing from the scope andspirit of the claims described below. For example, in an embodiment, thedatabase 516 can be configured to store the media content of interest,information associated with the media content of interest, thereplacement content, information associated with the replacementcontent, and other information. In one embodiment, the database 516 canstore an identification information associated with the media program, atime associated with detection of the identified media content ofinterest, a time associated with replacement of the identified mediacontent of interest, and an identifier indicating successful replacementof the identified media content interest.

In another embodiment, the operative functions of detecting, analyzing,and replacing content can be performed entirely by the application 502.In one embodiment, the application 502 can be configured toautomatically monitor media programs based on a schedule. For example,the user can specify that the application should monitor a particularprogram that plays at 8 p.m. every night of the week. In anotherembodiment, the functionality of the system 500 and the application 502can be present in any of the other devices of the system 500 or anyother device. For example, the functionality can reside at the mediadevice 526, at a personal computer of the user, a gaming system of theuser, or at a mobile device of the user. Additionally, the applicationand other functional components of the system 500 can perform the methodsteps in a way such that the user's devices/subscriber equipment are notdirectly involved in detection and replacement of the media content ofinterest. As an example, the detection, analysis, replacement, and otherfunctions of the present disclosure, can be performed entirely at aservice provider of the user.

Other suitable modifications can be applied to the present disclosurewithout departing from the scope of the claims below. Accordingly, thereader is directed to the claims section for a fuller understanding ofthe breadth and scope of the present disclosure.

FIG. 11 depicts an exemplary diagrammatic representation of a machine inthe form of a computer system 1100 within which a set of instructions,when executed, may cause the machine to perform any one or more of themethodologies discussed above. In some embodiments, the machine operatesas a standalone device. In some embodiments, the machine may beconnected (e.g., using a network) to other machines. In a networkeddeployment, the machine may operate in the capacity of a server or aclient user machine in server-client user network environment, or as apeer machine in a peer-to-peer (or distributed) network environment.

The machine may comprise a server computer, a client user computer, apersonal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a laptop computer, a desktopcomputer, a control system, a network router, switch or bridge, or anymachine capable of executing a set of instructions (sequential orotherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that machine. It will beunderstood that a device of the present disclosure includes broadly anyelectronic device that provides voice, video or data communication.Further, while a single machine is illustrated, the term “machine” shallalso be taken to include any collection of machines that individually orjointly execute a set (or multiple sets) of instructions to perform anyone or more of the methodologies discussed herein.

The computer system 1100 may include a processor 1102 (e.g., a centralprocessing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU, or both), a mainmemory 1104 and a static memory 1106, which communicate with each othervia a bus 1108. The computer system 1100 may further include a videodisplay unit 1110 (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD), a flat panel, asolid state display, or a cathode ray tube (CRT)). The computer system1100 may include an input device 1112 (e.g., a keyboard), a cursorcontrol device 1114 (e.g., a mouse), a disk drive unit 1116, a signalgeneration device 1118 (e.g., a speaker or remote control) and a networkinterface device 1120.

The disk drive unit 1116 may include a machine-readable medium 1122 onwhich is stored one or more sets of instructions (e.g., software 1124)embodying any one or more of the methodologies or functions describedherein, including those methods illustrated above. The instructions 1124may also reside, completely or at least partially, within the mainmemory 1104, the static memory 1106, and/or within the processor 1102during execution thereof by the computer system 1100. The main memory1104 and the processor 1102 also may constitute machine-readable media.

Dedicated hardware implementations including, but not limited to,application specific integrated circuits, programmable logic arrays andother hardware devices can likewise be constructed to implement themethods described herein. Applications that may include the apparatusand systems of various embodiments broadly include a variety ofelectronic and computer systems. Some embodiments implement functions intwo or more specific interconnected hardware modules or devices withrelated control and data signals communicated between and through themodules, or as portions of an application-specific integrated circuit.Thus, the example system is applicable to software, firmware, andhardware implementations.

In accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure, themethods described herein are intended for operation as software programsrunning on a computer processor. Furthermore, software implementationscan include, but not limited to, distributed processing orcomponent/object distributed processing, parallel processing, or virtualmachine processing can also be constructed to implement the methodsdescribed herein.

The present disclosure contemplates a machine readable medium containinginstructions 1124, or that which receives and executes instructions 1124from a propagated signal so that a device connected to a networkenvironment 1126 can send or receive voice, video or data, and tocommunicate over the network 1126 using the instructions 1124. Theinstructions 1124 may further be transmitted or received over a network1126 via the network interface device 1120.

While the machine-readable medium 1122 is shown in an example embodimentto be a single medium, the term “machine-readable medium” should betaken to include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralizedor distributed database, and/or associated caches and servers) thatstore the one or more sets of instructions. The term “machine-readablemedium” shall also be taken to include any medium that is capable ofstoring, encoding or carrying a set of instructions for execution by themachine and that cause the machine to perform any one or more of themethodologies of the present disclosure.

The term “machine-readable medium” shall accordingly be taken toinclude, but not be limited to: solid-state memories such as a memorycard or other package that houses one or more read-only (non-volatile)memories, random access memories, or other re-writable (volatile)memories; magneto-optical or optical medium such as a disk or tape;and/or a digital file attachment to e-mail or other self-containedinformation archive or set of archives is considered a distributionmedium equivalent to a tangible storage medium. Accordingly, thedisclosure is considered to include any one or more of amachine-readable medium or a distribution medium, as listed herein andincluding art-recognized equivalents and successor media, in which thesoftware implementations herein are stored.

Although the present specification describes components and functionsimplemented in the embodiments with reference to particular standardsand protocols, the disclosure is not limited to such standards andprotocols. Each of the standards for Internet and other packet switchednetwork transmission (e.g., TCP/IP, UDP/IP, HTML, HTTP) representexamples of the state of the art. Such standards are periodicallysuperseded by faster or more efficient equivalents having essentiallythe same functions. Accordingly, replacement standards and protocolshaving the same functions are considered equivalents.

The illustrations of embodiments described herein are intended toprovide a general understanding of the structure of various embodiments,and they are not intended to serve as a complete description of all theelements and features of apparatus and systems that might make use ofthe structures described herein. Many other embodiments will be apparentto those of skill in the art upon reviewing the above description. Otherembodiments may be utilized and derived therefrom, such that structuraland logical substitutions and changes may be made without departing fromthe scope of this disclosure. Figures are also merely representationaland may not be drawn to scale. Certain proportions thereof may beexaggerated, while others may be minimized Accordingly, thespecification and drawings are to be regarded in an illustrative ratherthan a restrictive sense.

Such embodiments of the inventive subject matter may be referred toherein, individually and/or collectively, by the term “invention” merelyfor convenience and without intending to voluntarily limit the scope ofthis application to any single invention or inventive concept if morethan one is in fact disclosed. Thus, although specific embodiments havebeen illustrated and described herein, it should be appreciated that anyarrangement calculated to achieve the same purpose may be substitutedfor the specific embodiments shown. This disclosure is intended to coverany and all adaptations or variations of various embodiments.Combinations of the above embodiments, and other embodiments notspecifically described herein, will be apparent to those of skill in theart upon reviewing the above description.

The Abstract of the Disclosure is provided to comply with 37 C.F.R.§1.72(b), requiring an abstract that will allow the reader to quicklyascertain the nature of the technical disclosure. It is submitted withthe understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit thescope or meaning of the claims. In addition, in the foregoing DetailedDescription, it can be seen that various features are grouped togetherin a single embodiment for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure.This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting anintention that the claimed embodiments require more features than areexpressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claimsreflect, inventive subject matter lies in less than all features of asingle disclosed embodiment. Thus the following claims are herebyincorporated into the Detailed Description, with each claim standing onits own as a separately claimed subject matter.

What is claimed is:
 1. A server, comprising: a processing systemincluding a processor; and a memory that stores executable instructionsthat, when executed by the processing system, facilitate performance ofoperations, comprising: receiving a batch file feed, wherein the batchfile feed comprises a plurality of media programs identified byequipment of a viewer; determining media content of interest based on aselection obtained from equipment of the viewer; detecting the mediacontent of interest within an audio portion of a media program in theplurality of media programs; and inserting an indicator into the audioportion of the media program, wherein the indicator comprises a pointerto replacement content, wherein the indicator is inserted in the mediaprogram in response to the detecting of the media content of interestand points to the replacement content stored separately from the mediaprogram, wherein the replacement content is based on another selectionobtained from the equipment of the viewer, wherein the inserting of thepointer comprises placing the pointer at a start point of the mediacontent of interest within the media program to enable retrieval of thereplacement content stored separately from the media program based onthe pointer and replacement of the media content of interest of themedia program with the replacement content, wherein the replacement ofthe media content of interest with the replacement content begins at thestart point to obtain modified media content, and wherein thereplacement of the media content of interest occurs prior topacketization of the modified media content for transport to a mediaprocessor for presentation at the equipment of the viewer.
 2. The serverof claim 1, wherein the server operates in an interactive televisionnetwork, wherein the interactive television network is selected from agroup consisting of internet protocol television, interactive cabletelevision and interactive satellite television, and wherein thereplacement content is read from a database based on the pointer.
 3. Theserver of claim 1, wherein the audio portion comprises one of an audiostream, a text stream or both, and wherein the media content of interestis selected from a group consisting of audio content, textual contentassociated with the audio content, still image content, video contentand combinations thereof.
 4. The server of claim 1, wherein theoperations further comprise storing information associated with themedia content of interest, wherein the audio portion comprises an audiostream, and wherein the inserting of the pointer further comprisesplacing the pointer within the audio stream.
 5. The server of claim 4,wherein the information associated with the media content of interestcomprises a first identifier associated with the media program, a firsttime associated with detection of the media content of interest, asecond time associated with replacement of the media content ofinterest, and a second identifier indicating successful replacement ofthe media content of interest.
 6. The server of claim 1, wherein theplurality of media programs is determined based on a second selectionobtained from equipment of a viewer comprising selected media programs,all live media programs, or a combination thereof, wherein the pluralityof media programs includes the media program.
 7. The server of claim 1,wherein the operations further comprise obtaining a textualrepresentation of the audio portion, wherein the detecting of the mediacontent of interest is based on the textual representation, and whereinthe processing system comprises a plurality of processors operating in adistributed processing environment.
 8. The server of claim 1, whereinthe operations further comprise: detecting the media content of interestwithin a closed captioning portion of the media program; and replacingthe media content of interest within the closed captioning portion ofthe media program with the replacement content, wherein the replacementof the media content of interest with the replacement content occursduring a presentation of the media program.
 9. A method, comprising:receiving, by a processing system including a processor, a batch filefeed, wherein the batch file feed comprises a plurality of mediaprograms identified by viewer equipment; identifying, by a processingsystem including a processor, audio content of interest based on aselection obtained from the viewer equipment; identifying, by theprocessing system, alternate audio content for replacing the audiocontent of interest within an audio stream of a media program in theplurality of media programs, wherein the alternate audio content isbased on another selection obtained from the viewer equipment, andwherein the alternate audio content is stored separately from the mediaprogram; detecting, by the processing system, an occurrence of the audiocontent of interest within a textual representation of the audio streamof the media program; and responsive to the detecting of the occurrenceof the audio content of interest, inserting, by the processing system anindicator within the media program comprising a pointer to the alternateaudio content, wherein the pointer is inserted at a start point of theoccurrence of the audio content of interest within the audio stream ofthe media program, wherein the alternate audio content is retrievedbased on the pointer, wherein the occurrence of the audio content ofinterest is substituted with alternate audio content beginning at thestart point to obtain a modified audio stream, and wherein thereplacement of the audio content of interest occurs prior topacketization of the modified audio stream for transport to a mediaprocessor for presentation at the viewer equipment.
 10. The method ofclaim 9, wherein the processing system comprises an interactivetelevision network selected from a group consisting of internet protocoltelevision, interactive cable television and interactive satellitetelevision, the method further comprising monitoring, by the processingsystem, a plurality of media programs comprising the media program basedon a schedule.
 11. The method of claim 9, wherein the audio streamcomprises a text stream, and wherein the audio content of interest andthe alternate audio content is selected from a group consisting of audiocontent, video content, still image content, text content, text contentassociated with the audio content and combinations thereof.
 12. Themethod of claim 9, wherein further comprising: de-packetizing, by theprocessing system, the media program to obtain a de-packetized mediaprogram, wherein the detecting of the occurrence of the audio content ofinterest occurs within the de-packetized media program; andre-packetizing, by the processing system, the media program comprisingthe indicator.
 13. The method of claim 9, wherein the audio streamcorrelates to the audio content of interest.
 14. The method of claim 9,further comprising identifying, by the processing system, the alternateaudio content by utilizing a device selected from a group consisting ofpersonal computer, a mobile device and a set-top-box.
 15. Amachine-readable storage device, comprising executable instructions,which when executed by a processing system including a processor,facilitate performance of operations comprising: receiving, by way ofviewer equipment, a first selection that identifies audio content ofinterest associated with a media program comprising an audio portion;receiving, by way of the viewer equipment, a second selectionidentifying replacement audio content; receiving, by way of the viewerequipment, a third selection identifying a plurality of media programsincluding the media program; determining that the audio portion of themedia program contains the audio content of interest; and responsive tothe determining that the audio portion contains the audio content ofinterest, inserting an indicator within an audio stream of the mediaprogram to obtain a modified media program, wherein the indicatorcomprises a pointer to the replacement audio content, wherein theindicator is placed at a start point of the audio content of interest,wherein a generating of the modified media program comprises: detectingthe pointer within the audio stream; retrieving the replacement audiocontent based on the pointer; and substituting, within the audio stream,the audio content of interest with the replacement audio contentbeginning at the start point, prior to packetization of the audio streamfor transport to equipment of a viewer for presentation.
 16. Themachine-readable storage device of claim 15, wherein the determiningthat the media program contains the audio content of interest is basedon a textual representation of the audio portion, and wherein theprocessing system comprises a plurality of processors operating in adistributed processing environment.
 17. The machine-readable storagedevice of claim 15, wherein the audio portion comprises one of an audiostream, a text stream or both, and wherein the operations furthercomprise retrieving the replacement audio content based on the pointer,and wherein the substituting of the audio content of interest with thereplacement audio content begins at the start point.
 18. Themachine-readable storage device of claim 15, wherein the operationsfurther comprise: re-packetizing the de-packetized media programcomprising the replacement audio content; and storing informationassociated with the audio content of interest.
 19. The machine-readablestorage device of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprisereplacing the audio content of the media program, wherein the audiocontent correlates to the audio content of interest.
 20. Themachine-readable storage device of claim 15, wherein the operationsfurther comprise storing an identifier indicating that the substitutingof the audio content of interest with the replacement audio content wassuccessful.